The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) has set aside €3 million (Sh339.7 million) to develop national and regional trade information portals in Africa.
Under the agreement sealed by Unctad secretary-general Mukhisa Kituyi, the UN body aims to provide financial support to COMESA members under a partnership that is meant to increase trade at the continental level through customs automation.
The information centres will be a one-stop avenue for trade information, and CARC will support technical and functional training on the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) World Platform. ASYCUDA) is an integrated customs management system for international trade and transport operations.
An additional €68 million (Sh7.7 billion) will be drawn out of the €85 million (Sh9.6 billion) to implement trade facilitation and small-scale cross-border trade.
